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Joker Can Make History One Last Time

In 1984, Joker Phillips' final game as a player for Kentucky, he beat Tennessee. 28 years to the day will be this Saturday, Joker's final game as a coach at Kentucky, and he'll play Tennessee.

There certainly have to be emotions in play for Joker. He could leave a legacy. But he says it's not about him.

"It would mean a lot just to finish out for these seniors. There's a lot of history like that that we're trying to change, and this would be one of those things that would be a plus, one of the things that this class has changed if we can get it done," said Joker.

Obvioulsy, Joker has a lot of UK gear. While he says it will always be his univeristy, it's time to move on. He's got a plan for that.

"My family is coming up Thanksgiving, we've got 50 family members coming up. We'll draw names and see who gets to pick out what. I've got a lot of stuff. That's the way it should be. They should be able to enjoy it. Hopefully I've got to make room for some other gear. That's what it's about."

Of course he's talking about getting another job, which he no doubt will. He doesn't know when or where he'll end up coaching again, and for him that doesn't seem to matter right now.

"What I want to do is relax for now and see what happens. I'm not closing the door on anything, you know?" said Joker.

Whether or not this team beats Tennessee, Joker has a lot of good memories to take with him. For all the losing his teams have done, he's got two of the biggest wins in program history. He'd sure like to leave with one more.

"There was some history. We never beat (Coach Steve) Spurrier; this class got a chance to do it. Twenty-some years of not beating Tennessee, this class had the chance to do it. So this would be another thing they have done that nobody here has done before."